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SPAR UK colleagues volunteer at local street kitchen

Colleagues from SPAR UK Partner, Blakemore Retail, joined forces with the Worcestershire Homeless Appeal to serve up meals to some of Worcester city’s most vulnerable citizens.

The volunteers visited Worcester to support a street kitchen event in the city and launch the Worcestershire Homeless Appeal’s new food van, worth more than £5,000, which was purchased with fundraising support from Blakemore Retail. The company’s charitable trust, the Blakemore Foundation, also served up 75 hot meals to the city’s homeless.

Blakemore Retail’s relationship with the Worcestershire Homeless Appeal began in 2016 and since then, the SPAR UK Partner has raised a phenomenal £14,190 worth of goods for the charity, with the Blakemore Foundation providing further monetary support with £5,830 of match funding.

The Worcestershire Homeless Appeal said: “We thank Blakemore Retail and the Blakemore Foundation for their continued support; without the kind generosity of both we wouldn’t be able to help so many vulnerable and homeless families and individuals across Worcestershire and beyond.

“We also can’t thank enough the staff from the 15 SPAR stores, which are part of the Blakemore group, for their support; we are overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of all the staff who give up their time to volunteer and help at the street kitchen.

“The van will allow us to get more hot meals to those who need them most in areas that currently don’t have this service or support. We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.”

The charity takes part in the weekly street kitchens, organised by the Good Soil Trust, once a month, with colleagues from SPAR stores Droitwich, Hagley, Fernhill Heath and Kidderminster also volunteering their time and providing store goods on a monthly basis.

The United Kingdom became a member of SPAR in 1956. There are five regional partners in the UK with strategically placed Distribution Centres in each region. A Central Office located in London provides national Marketing and Buying services for the group and supports the development of the SPAR Brand in the UK.

SPAR is the UK’s leading convenience retailer with a combined turnover in excess of £12 billion. SPAR celebrated its 60th anniversary in the UK in 2017.